The Theta blockchain proposes a decentralized video streaming platform that competes face-to-face with Twitch. This system not only incentivizes content creators, it also incentivizes users and “uses” them to improve broadcasts.
Index of contents
- What is Theta
- Who have created Theta
- What is the Theta Token (THETA)
- How Theta Works
- How Consensus Works in Theta
- What is Proof-of-Engadgement
- Multilevel Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT)
- How video streaming works
- Who’s who on the Blockchain
- How Theta improves video quality and security
- What is Theta Fuel (TFUEL)
- Why was TFUEL created?
- Different between THETA and TFUEL
- How much TFUEL is in circulation
- Final words on Theta and TFUEL
- How Consensus Works in Theta
What is Theta
It is a decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) video transmission network but within blockchain technology . We can say that Theta wants to compete with platforms like Twitch or YouTube . Also, it allows users to share their bandwidth and system resources to earn tokens.
They propose to create a high-quality video streaming platform without buffering . They bet on using the bandwidth and storage of the users. This would improve the quality of the transmissions and reduce costs.
Theta wants to solve the problems of centralized streams, which usually have bad load times and a poor buffering system . It is especially noticeable with broadcasts with 4K and 8K resolution, as well as virtual reality broadcasts. The idea is that it is a transmission between pairs to have greater bandwidth.
Another benefit of Theta’s decentralized proposal is the reduction of infrastructure costs for streaming. In addition, they argue that advertising revenue could increase significantly. Users, on the other hand, can support creators by giving them tokens
Who have created Theta
Behind this project are Mitch Liu and Jieyi Long, who founded it in 2017 . Liu has a long history within the video game, audiovisual content and virtual reality industry, as well as being the co-founder of the video advertising firm Tapjoy , among others.
Long on the other hand is also the co-founder of Theta and director of the technology area. He is highly experienced in design automation, video games, virtual reality, and large-scale distributed systems. In addition, it has several patents on video streaming, blockchain, and virtual reality.
Theta currently has a fairly modest, but very good team of developers. It should be noted that they have large investors such as Samsung NEXT, Sonny Innovation Fund, Sierra Ventures or Bertelsann Digital Media Investments.
What is the Theta Token (THETA)
It is the native token of this blockchain and works as a governance token. It allows the Theta token (THETA) to secure the blockchain and also offers users a number of additional properties.
Additionally we have the Theta Fuel (TFUEL) token which is delivered to users who see the content. It also rewards users who share their hardware and bandwidth with other viewers.
It should be noted that TFUEL works quite similarly to Gas on the Ethereum blockchain . As in Ethereum, it is used to calculate commissions and for smart contracts .
There are currently 1 billion THETA tokens in circulation and no more can be generated. THTETA tokens are mostly used for the governance of the blockchain and the creation of the guardian nodes. Creating a guardian node, as this blockchain is based on PoS, requires the leverage of 1,000 THETA, as a security guarantee.
How Theta Works
We are going to distinguish here between the consensus mechanism introduced in Theta and how video streaming works. We could say that consensus is one layer and transmission is an additional inner layer.
How Consensus Works in Theta
For this blockchain, a proof-of-stake (Proof-of-Stake; PoS) consensus mechanism has been chosen . This consensus mechanism requires less power, less hardware, and less time for transaction validation than Proof-of-Work (PoW) . Something that allows any viewer to function as a cache node without the need for expensive hardware.
We are working on the implementation of an element called Proof-of-Engadgement. This element will be used to monitor the delivery of the contents and verify the viewing.
It also has a mechanism called Smart Streaming Contracts . Despite the name, they do not differ in anything with respect to the idea of Smart Contracts proposed by Nick Szasbo. These smart streaming contracts take care of the distribution and collection of the rewards.
What is Proof-of-Engadgement
It is a built-in mechanism to verify that the user has followed the live video feed . The idea is to offer advertisers accurate information about the viewing of the content. On the other hand, it offers users the ability to earn tokens for their participation.
This mechanism is required to verify content display and obtain reliable metrics. Streamers, users and advertisers will be able to obtain data on views and therefore the impact of the transmission.
Multilevel Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT)
To achieve high performance, the Theta blockchain has been divided into two layers. The first is based on small node clusters that are based on a modified Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus.
Sets of validation nodes will be created that would not total more than 20 nodes. These are constituted as a “validation committee” with the aim of generating blocks as quickly as possible. It would be a simple system quite similar to the BFT mechanism.
The second layer is made up of a group of guardian nodes that make sure to maintain the validation consensus. They would come to act as inspectors who verify the veracity of the information and thus prevent malicious activities.
Both elements, theoretically, allow a large volume of transactions per second. This at the same time minimizes transaction fees.
How video streaming works
The idea behind this project is a mesh-type network with a set of communicating nodes. These nodes are the main part of the Theta network’s bandwidth sharing scheme. The Theta blockchain also allows nodes to become a primary part of the network.
Theta is based on a P2P architecture to offer the best performance to create a content transmission network. The structure of this network would be:
- Theta network nodes are based on the hardware and resources of the users who are viewing the content
- Any of the nodes can become “caching nodes” on the network. They can store content and broadcast it to viewers around the world. Such a mechanism should reduce dependence on conventional content systems based on large data centers. These data centers can be far from the customer and cause a reduction in video quality
- The video is cached on the users’ systems acting as the node. Allows nodes to be closer to other viewers. This mechanism also allows to deliver video without a decrease in its quality.
- Network ‘peer nodes’ will be able to pull video stream from each otherinstead of relying on CDNs
- Those who want to act as a “passing” node will receive a reward in Theta. This strategy serves to thank users for their support and attract new nodes. It is estimated that if the project is successful, content delivery costs could be reduced by 80%, since it would not be necessary to maintain expensive data centers
Who’s who on the Blockchain
We have a total of five different participants:
- Content creators:They are those who carry out the transmission of video or who simply produce content for later viewing. They receive a reward in the Theta token for the contributions made.
- Viewers:Those who go to the platform for the consumption of video content . These viewers are also rewarded for viewing and participating in the content, as well as being able to be rewarded for viewing the ads, if they want.
- Advertisers:These have the ability to promote their products and services to viewers. Placing ads requires Theta tokens, to buy the advertising.
- Caching nodes:In addition to servers, there are user caching nodes. This makes it possible to improve the quality of the transmission.
- Ingest Nodes:Help provide different bit rates, stream resolutions, etc. They offer their service to the caching nodes for live broadcasts and receive a reward .
How Theta improves video quality and security
One of the premises of this platform is to improve security. They want to solve the problem of the breach of security to which centralized systems are exposed by the connection structure.
The data centers are vulnerable to DoS attacks that can lead to a loss of quality video transmission. To reduce video quality it is only necessary to affect a few systems in a data center. Theta, as it is based on decentralized nodes that can be readjusted, would make a drop or loss of quality in the video more difficult.
Achieving the desired performance is a balance between the quality of the cache / transmission nodes on the network. “Quality” in this case refers to the variable capacity of a node to perform the tasks that have to do with the transmission and transmission of video. The nodes can also decide that Theta no longer works or likes them, and abandon it.
To solve this problem before it can arise, Theta proposes to create a server and client-based system. The idea is to identify the relative proximity of adjacent nodes in the network. When a new node is added to the network, the server will collect the most relevant information for the location. Data will be taken from the IP address, latitude / longitude and performance parameters.
You should get connections between the closest nodes, instead of connecting to random remote nodes.
What is Theta Fuel (TFUEL)
It is a utility token that is used within the delivery of decentralized video and data. As we have highlighted above, TFUEL also acts as the Gas token on the Ethereum blockchain. It therefore implies that Theta Fuel is used in all operations within the Theta blockchain.
TFUEL is specifically used as a payment method for those who perform streaming, to display and interact with a smart contract and as a commission for transactions.
Why was TFUEL created?
There are two reasons for the development of this token:
- It allows a separation between the usefulness and the purpose of the two tokens created. Theta is used to as currency and to protect the network. TFUEL for commissions and for the daily use of the network. A highly liquid token that supports millions of daily transactions is required for video transmissions and smart contracts.
- It solves the governance problemthat could arise from using the same token for transactions and for the existence of liquidity. As for depending on which operations a great liquidity is required, the whales could monopolize the tokens. This would end up generating significant market manipulation. By making a split between the use token and the working token, the risk is reduced.
Different between THETA and TFUEL
- THETA: Blockchain Governance Token. They are used to act as a validator node or a custodian node, who perform the function of helping to produce and administer the protocol. When a node is created and executed, users receive the corresponding amount in the TFUEL token.
- TFUEL: Token utility blockchain. It is used to carry out operations on the blockchain, such as payments, forward video transmissions or to implement and interact with smart contracts. A reward is generated for users with TFUEL.
How much TFUEL is in circulation
The THETA token has an established limit and all the tokens are already in circulation. TFUEL is different, since there is no quantity of tokens issued, the number growing little by little. There are currently just over 5.3 billion TFUEL in circulation.
How is it possible? The answer is that, each year, as the network is used, new tokens are generated. This allows high liquidity to always exist and discourages the grabbing of this token.
Final words on Theta and TFUEL
It is a blockchain that proposes to create a content streaming system such as Twitch, YouTube or Facebook Gaming, but decentralized. One of its proposals is to reduce the necessary infrastructure in order to reduce costs and consumption of hardware and electricity.
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Users can act as “relay” nodes for the video stream, resulting in less need for the cache buffer and higher video quality. As the “repeater” can be closer to the end user, the video quality is not affected, as in a centralized system.
Another interesting aspect is that not only the content creators are rewarded, but also the users. The longer we watch a broadcast or the more faithful we are to a creator, the more we can earn. Users who give up their resources, both hardware and bandwidth, are also rewarded for the broadcasting of the transmission.
What do you think of Theta’s proposal for a decentralized streaming service.
